


In The End

by TheChippedGirl



Category: Once Upon A Time - Fandom
Genre: Post Heroes and Villains, Season 4B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 02:37:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3471245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheChippedGirl/pseuds/TheChippedGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the end, Rumplestiltskin finds himself in a similar situation with his wife that he once found himself in with a young boy. This time, will he be able to make the right decision to secure his happy ending? Or will he fall victim to fear once more? Set during 4B.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The End

The Queens of Darkness had Belle. That much was for certain. 

It had been several weeks since Rumplestiltskin had resurrected Maleficent, and since then he had betrayed her, Ursula, and Cruella. This was no surprise to the people of Storybrooke, or even to the three villainesses themselves. They had been prepared for the moment when he would throw them to the dogs, and for once he had been caught off guard. 

They had taken Belle, much like they had in the Enchanted Forest, and were holding her for a ransom. The new deal was simple: If Gold did not come to the wishing well in the forest by midnight, Belle would be killed. 

Rumple had been pining after Belle ever since the night he had re-entered Storybrooke. He never once felt the need to take out revenge on her for what she had done, realizing that he had gravely wronged her. If anything, he was proud that his Belle had finally stood up to him. Sure he did not love being forced into a land without magic, but it gave him a chance to prove his worth regardless of magic. For several weeks his "behind the scenes" work consisted mostly of watching her from afar, careful not to intrude on her life too much so as not to anger or upset her even more than he already had. 

Of course she knew he was back though. She could feel it, and besides that she had heard the whispers in town. Several people claimed to have seen him late at night watching the library from afar, knowing that she was inside working with her newfound friend Will to help him find a way back to his true love. 

Yes, Rumplestiltskin had kept a close eye on them indeed. 

But now was not the time for reminiscing. Now, he was walking through the dark forest, the only light by which he could see was the moon hanging low in the skye. A fog settled around the trees, making it even harder to locate the well where he knew they would be keeping her. 

They wouldn't have her for long. 

The leaves beneath his shoes were damp with moisture and the tension in the air was palpable as he neared the well. Checking his watch, he confirmed that it was five minutes to midnight. 

When the designated meeting point finally came into view, Rumplestiltskin stopped short. There, sitting at the base of the wishing well, her hands bound tightly behind her back, was Belle. His beauty. His strength. After weeks of watching and waiting and hoping, she was so close. 

Belle lifted her head slowly, tendrils of dark hair parting as she locked eyes with Rumplestiltskin. He was just as she remembered, but the fear in his eyes was entirely different this time. The fear was for her and not for himself. 

Belle opened her mouth to speak, but she was promptly cut off when Cruella emerged from behind a tall oak tree to Belle's left. 

"Well this is a familiar scene, isn't it darlings?" she drawled, looking from Belle to Rumple lazily as she put a hand on her hip. 

Gold growled, his fists clenching at his sides. "What do you want, Cruella?" he spat, trying hard to control his rage. 

"I want what everyone in this bloody town wants, Rumple. I want my revenge. On you. Everyone else is just too weak to confront you, but not us." she replied as Maleficent stepped out from behind another oak tree and Ursula emerged from behind the well, her tentacles extending and grabbing tightly at Belle who was yanked from her sitting position unceremoniously. 

Belle was now suspended slightly above the ground, thrashing wildly against the sea witch's grip as the three villainesses grinned at Rumple, malicious glints in their eyes. 

"Let her go, she has nothing to do with this." he ground out, taking careful steps forward. He wouldn't let them harm a hair on her head. 

"She has everything to do with this. She's your happy ending, and if we truly want to get our revenge, we'll have to take that from you." Maleficent said simply, producing something from the top of her staff. 

"What is that, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin asked mildly, pretending to be bored. 

Maleficent smiled, "A magic bean."

Rumple could no longer fake boredom. "But there are none of those left in this world or ours." he said, perplexed. 

"And yet, here's one now." drawled Ursula, still holding the struggling Belle tightly. 

Cruella took the bean from Maleficent and moved closer to where Ursula stood. "You see Rumple," she started as Ursula raised Belle higher into the air, "You're going to have to make a choice, a choice very similar to one that led you to years of misery."

Ursula carefully slid Belle's bound hands over a tree branch and retracted her tentacles, leaving her dangling dangerously over the ground. Rumple took a few steps forward but Maleficent raised her staff and blocked his path. 

"You can either live here with your grandson, where your own son is buried, in a place with familiar people and familiar things. Ensured safety and a comfortable life. Or you can join your little wife, in god knows where." Cruella explained, flicking the magic bean on the ground directly below where Belle was dangling from the tree branch. The Queens of Darkness backed up towards the well and began to watch, cruel smiles on their faces. 

The portal began to open, swirling green light creating a tornado in the ground. A strong wind picked up, sucking leaves and stray branches into the portal as it picked up momentum. Belle felt herself sliding off of the tree branch, unable to support herself with her bound hands. She screamed but the wind took most of the sound away as it whipped her hair around. 

As she reached the end of the branch and began to fall into the portal, Rumplestiltskin reached out and grabbed her hands, pulling his dagger out of his cloak and stabbing it into the ground in a desperate attempt to keep them both in Storybrooke. 

Belle looked up at Rumple through tear filled eyes, the green depths below her threatening to rip her away at any second.

"Belle hold on! I can pull us up!" Rumple yelled over the noise. 

Belle just shook her head, "You can't! It's too strong!"

She screamed again as she felt Rumple's grip slip and then tighten, her body feeling like it was about to be ripped apart by the conflicting forces trying to send her to different worlds. 

"You have to let me go." she said, tears cascading down her face. 

Rumplestiltskin growled "Not going to happen. I'm not going to lose you again!"

"It'll be alright!" she cried, hiccuping now in between her sobs, her skirt billowing up around her. 

"I won't leave you alone!" he yelled, clutching at the grip of his dagger.

Belle smiled sadly, "No matter what you've done, Rumplestiltskin, I will always love you. I hope you find your happy ending, even if it's not with me." 

Something registered in Rumple's mind and he flashed back to Bae's death. 'Go find Tallahassee, even if it isn't with me.' he had said to Emma.

It was then that he realized Belle was saying goodbye. 

He felt her hand slip out of his, saw her fall, saw her dark hair twisting around her, as if he was dreaming. Then a rush of ice hit his heart and he realized that this was not a dream. Belle was real, Belle was his happy ending. It was time to wake up. 

"I'm not going to lose you too!" he yelled, wrenching his dagger from the dirt and falling after Belle through the swirling green magic. He dove straight for her and grasped her hands again, her blue eyes meeting his for a brief moment, shock filling their beautiful depths before the green magic enveloped them both fully. 

When they land in the Enchanted forest, the Dark Castle looks exactly the same.


End file.
